Avnet Technology Solutions, the global IT solutions distribution leader and an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), today introduced two new solutions to accelerate the adoption of private clouds by small businesses and remote offices / branch offices (ROBO). The Avnet A30 Series and A20 Series appliances are Avnet converged infrastructure solutions based on EMC’s recently launched VNXe ®3200 unified storage platform and EMC ® ScaleIO™ architecture, respectively. They will be available to customers exclusively through Avnet’s highly knowledgeable channel partner community in the U.S. and Canada. The new appliances will provide small business and ROBO customers with the benefits of private clouds, but at the price points and sizes that align with their organizations.

“The adaptability and efficiency of private clouds make them ideal for small businesses, remote offices and branch offices; however, these solutions are typically designed for companies with hundreds or thousands of employees,” said Greg Peterson, vice president and general manager for the EMC Solutions group, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. “Avnet and EMC collaborated to create converged infrastructure solutions tailored to the unique needs of the small business market that leverage EMC’s latest software and architecture, and create a path to private clouds. The introduction of the Avnet A30 Series and A20 Series presents a clear opportunity for our partners to address this underserved market with flexible information infrastructures that have the scale they need.”

The Avnet A30 Series and Avnet A20 Series are converged infrastructure solutions that provide small businesses and ROBOs with remote and virtual access to their data via private clouds. Both solutions are built on EMC’s VSPEX ® for Private Cloud architecture that features virtualization with flexibility, validated interoperability for deployment and cloud-based storage and backup. The physical aspects of these solutions are housed in a Panduit enclosure that fits in small wiring closets and other space-constrained facilities. Features include:

Avnet A30 Series: Designed to meet the needs of businesses and offices with approximately 50 users. It includes two of the latest releases from EMC, the Data Domain® DD2200 and the VNXe®3200. The DD2200 offers reliable storage protection, delivering industry-leading application protection and data integrity. The VNXe3200, EMC’s unified storage platform, features unified snapshots and Fibre Channel support along with the Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) and Multicore Optimization (MCx) software that leverages flash or increased performance, while simultaneously lowering capex and opex ($/IOPS and $/GB).

Avnet A20 Series: Created for businesses and offices with approximately 25 users. This solution includes ScaleIO, a software-only solution that uses the application hosts’ local disks to realize a virtual SAN that is comparable to, or better than, external SAN storage, but at a fraction of the cost and without the complexity.

“Avnet is making private cloud computing affordable for small businesses by using our next-generation technology,” said Jeff Boudreau, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise and Midrange Systems Division, EMC Corporation. “Avnet was the natural choice for us to engage with on these appliances based on their team’s strong technical expertise, services capabilities and heritage in solutions distribution. Avnet complemented EMC’s strategy to have channel-ready solutions available following the launch of our VNXe3200 storage platform and EMC ScaleIO architecture, and together, we will help our partners solve the technology challenges of small businesses and remote and branch offices.”

Avnet will help partners accelerate their ability to bring the Avnet A30 Series and A20 Series appliances to market through its Transformation as a Service (TaaS) initiative. This initiative streamlines the converged solutions process with pre-sales support, engineering assistance, financing and industry-leading services, such as data center migration and technology recycling. Additionally, partners can leverage the Avnet Global Solutions Center in Chandler, Ariz., for the integration and assembly of the Avnet A30 Series and A20 Series appliances by Avnet’s EMC-certified engineers. This will reduce the time to deployment for Avnet partners and provide them with tested, validated and fully documented converged infrastructure solutions.

“Small businesses are constantly turning to us for practical ways they can increase their IT efficiency, and Avnet has squarely met this need with their new Avnet A30 Series and Avnet A20 Series appliances,” said Dan Chatson, datacenter practice brand manager with SIS, a technology and managed IT solutions provider and an Avnet partner. “We now have appliances specifically made for small businesses featuring EMC’s latest technology, which will provide our customers with all of their computing, networking and storage needs, while allowing them to reap the benefits of private clouds.”

Avnet at EMC World 2014

Avnet’s A30 Series and A20 Series appliances will be on display at EMC World in Las Vegas this week at booth #730. Attendees can watch live demonstrations of EMC’s new VNXe3200 storage platform and ScaleIO architecture using the new A20 Series and A30 Series appliances.

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers globally. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 29, 2013, Avnet generated revenue of $25.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.